The Bondurant Boys a bootlegging trio are the answer to many prayers in a depression-era Virginia carting around their own moonshine produce during prohibition. While not as business orientated as his two brothers, Jack Bondurant aims to make a name for himself and outshine even his legendary brother Forest. But the bootlegging suddenly becomes more difficult when a new deputy comes into town, Charlie Rakes is obsessed with catching the brothers out and bringing their illegal escapades to a grinding halt. Never being ones to just bow down to the law the Bondurant boys especially Jack, takes defiance to a new level when opposing Rakes and his reign of harsh and violent justice.
Taking center stage is Shia LaBeouf and while a quieted down role for once in comparison to his other onscreen performances, his boyish arrogance which seems to always be lulling around suits the youngest Bondurant, Jack to a tee. While also fitting with his usual rules Hardy gives a muscled man hidden behind a soft heart and large cardigan as Forest Bondurant, balancing the violent tough man with the elder brother works well in Hardy's hands giving whilst not as stand out as Bane a well grounded and entertaining performance. Guy Pearce dons yet another sinister does of makeup this year to create a lasting villain in Charlie Rakes the creepy lawman out to make the boys lives a misery, and as always Pearce is one to make the most of his roles and Rakes really is a stand out character. The last character with lasting appeal is Dane DeHann as the tragically fated Cricket the faithful friend of Jack and giving a entertaining turn with his character. The rest of the cast seem somewhat overlooked as merely love interests, Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain seeming to have no real purpose annoyingly, but most overlooked has to be Jason Clarke as Howard Bondurant who's role is relegated to a prominent extra almost.
Lawless based on a true story of defiance and rebellion, is unfairly sticking to most of the Hollywood conventions in its display. While by no means is it a terrible film and the performances show how the cast care about the end product, the film falls flat and rather dull at times offering extreme violence where it can be avoided with useless and dull romantic sub plots thrown into the mix without effort. Another pull away plot comes from the barely noticeable character of criminal Floyd Banner played by Gary Oldman and acting as little more than a short cameo which could have easily been expanded and given more to the film. Trying to blend over the top blood scenes, hidden romance and infallible truth to the source material leaves Lawless completely rebellious of any idea of who the target audience appear to be. That being said i did enjoy Lawless for the most part, minus some areas that didn't need as much treading room as they were given, it's story was interesting enough to hold attention. It certainly won't find a wide circle of praise thanks to the 18 hanging above it keeping cinema goers at bay, but if you enjoy historical truths with some well acted roles you could do worse than Lawless. It's not the best film of the year by a long shot yet still Lawless is worth it if you're interested in your history but maybe not if you just want to see another dose of Shia LaBeouf screaming at things.
6 / 10
FIN.
Taking center stage is Shia LaBeouf and while a quieted down role for once in comparison to his other onscreen performances, his boyish arrogance which seems to always be lulling around suits the youngest Bondurant, Jack to a tee. While also fitting with his usual rules Hardy gives a muscled man hidden behind a soft heart and large cardigan as Forest Bondurant, balancing the violent tough man with the elder brother works well in Hardy's hands giving whilst not as stand out as Bane a well grounded and entertaining performance. Guy Pearce dons yet another sinister does of makeup this year to create a lasting villain in Charlie Rakes the creepy lawman out to make the boys lives a misery, and as always Pearce is one to make the most of his roles and Rakes really is a stand out character. The last character with lasting appeal is Dane DeHann as the tragically fated Cricket the faithful friend of Jack and giving a entertaining turn with his character. The rest of the cast seem somewhat overlooked as merely love interests, Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain seeming to have no real purpose annoyingly, but most overlooked has to be Jason Clarke as Howard Bondurant who's role is relegated to a prominent extra almost.
Lawless based on a true story of defiance and rebellion, is unfairly sticking to most of the Hollywood conventions in its display. While by no means is it a terrible film and the performances show how the cast care about the end product, the film falls flat and rather dull at times offering extreme violence where it can be avoided with useless and dull romantic sub plots thrown into the mix without effort. Another pull away plot comes from the barely noticeable character of criminal Floyd Banner played by Gary Oldman and acting as little more than a short cameo which could have easily been expanded and given more to the film. Trying to blend over the top blood scenes, hidden romance and infallible truth to the source material leaves Lawless completely rebellious of any idea of who the target audience appear to be. That being said i did enjoy Lawless for the most part, minus some areas that didn't need as much treading room as they were given, it's story was interesting enough to hold attention. It certainly won't find a wide circle of praise thanks to the 18 hanging above it keeping cinema goers at bay, but if you enjoy historical truths with some well acted roles you could do worse than Lawless. It's not the best film of the year by a long shot yet still Lawless is worth it if you're interested in your history but maybe not if you just want to see another dose of Shia LaBeouf screaming at things.
6 / 10
FIN.
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